Scars Above and Below the Stars
by thegoatromantic
Summary: Ichigo is restless again one night after the battle with Deep Blue, and when she makes a wish upon a shooting star, she gets a special visitor in the middle of the night. Ichigo/Kish


Author's Note: Oh, I just can't seem to upload only one thing when I upload something, so here's a nice, sweet little story about Ichigo and Kish for you. Enjoy!

P. S. : I don't own any of the characters in this story, however, I certainly wouldn't protest it if Mia Ikumi and Reiko Yoshida decided to give Kish to me.

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**Scars Above and Below the Stars**

Ichigo turned in her bed, unable to rest because of the thoughts that were passing quickly through her mind. She had been having trouble sleeping the past few nights because the only thing she could think about was that final battle with Deep Blue and the people who were hurt during it, mainly Kish.

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_She remembered Deep Blue coming at her and thinking that her life was over. She wanted to cry as her life passed before her eyes, and she wished that she had more time to go back and fix all the things she hadn't done but should have, and to live out the things that she still wanted to do with her life. She slammed her eyes shut, readying herself for the blow to her chest that would instantly spread pain throughout her body and kill her._

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She waited, her eyes shut tightly in fear, for the intense pain in her heart, but it never came, and as she slowly peeked open her eyes, she found out why the pain had never come: Kish had jumped in front of her, taking the blow for her. Ichigo instantly fell to her knees beside Kish, who laid on the floor, his heart bleeding all over her.

At that time, she couldn't find it in herself to be disturbed by his blood all over her body: it was smeared against her knees, her hands were dyed with the dark color, and as she wiped away tears, it covered her face as well. Later, it would be the premise for many nightmares to come her way. She would never forget the sight of the boyish alien whose head was resting in her lap, his blood slowly leaking out, looking up at her one last time with mature eyes as he picked up his head to kiss her, only to fall back short before he was able to.

Tears pricked at Ichigo's eyes once more as the scene played over and over in her head. Kish hadn't died, she knew that much for sure, but she hadn't seen or heard from him since that day, and it killed her not to know his fate. She wanted to know how he was doing, how well he recovered, how the event had changed him, and, Ichigo blushed despite the tears falling from her eyes, if he was still thinking of her. In her heart, she hoped that all the affections he had once had for her were still there, constantly nagging at him as they had done in the past. She would imagine the scenario, but then realize a small error in her thoughts: Kish had always come to her when he felt like being near her in the past, and she hadn't seen or heard from or of him since the battle with Deep Blue. Realizing that, her dreams of him still loving her disappeared, and she was forced to accept the reality that she had hurt him one too many times, and dealt one too many painful blows to his heart and ego. She had finally struck the last nerve, and now that she regretted it, she couldn't take it back.

She sobbed, then roughly wiped away the tears that were drying on her cheeks and threw the covers back, sending a barrage of small, cute pillows against the wall. She threw her legs over the edge of the bed and waited, staring ahead at the wall in front of her, not moving at all, just waiting.

The curtains on her windows flapped lightly as the cold air outside blew through them, causing their shadows to dance in the pure beams of moonlight that fell on her floor. They shuddered and shook as the chilly wind blew through, and Ichigo's heart ached, realizing that the curtains felt the exact same way she did: cold, alone, and fragile. She sniffled quietly once, suddenly feeling her stomach begin to churn furiously. She stood up, intending on going to the bathroom, but she found herself drawn to the window.

She gazed down into her yard, and she felt nothing as she saw it's familiar view. Except for the difference in light, everything was the same as it was in the daytime, and Ichigo sighed, wishing she could see some of the magic that everyone else saw when looking out their windows at night. She gripped the windowsill tightly and leaned out, taking in a deep breath of the night air. She could feel the air move down toward her lungs, it's crisp fingers caressing her throat as it moved. It felt good, and she breathed in the air again, loving how it felt and thankful that it calmed her queasy insides.

A movement in the sky caught her eye, and Ichigo looked up just in time to see a falling star zoom across the sky. Without taking time to think about it, she closed her eyes and quickly muttered a small wish.

"I wish I could see Kish again, if only for a few minutes." Ichigo waited, her eyes still shut, to see if anything happened. After about five minutes she gave up and opened her eyes to view the night sky again. She had never really believed in falling stars granting wishes anyway, she thought as she turned to face the inside of her bedroom.

Though it was dark, Ichigo was pretty sure that there were shadows moving across her bedroom floor, and it frightened her. She gasped and turned back toward the window, thinking that perhaps a bat or an owl flew past. She stuck her head out the window and glanced around, not spotting a bat or owl anywhere in the area. Now afraid, she slowly drew herself back inside and ran to the wall, pressing her back against it. This way, nobody could sneak up on her from behind and attack her. Feeling slightly foolish, she inched her way across the room and slipped quickly back into her bed, looking out over her room every few steps she took until she reached the large, soft piece of furniture.

As she slipped under the covers, a hand reached out and grabbed Ichigo, placing itself over her mouth. The hand's pair was faintly visible in the moonlight, and it rested on a pair of lips.

"Hush, Kitten. Don't scream."

Ichigo had been formulating a plan in her mind that involved biting and screaming when she stopped suddenly, realizing whose voice she had heard. Tears welled up in her eyes at the exact moment she made the connection, and she dove forward, wrapping her arms around the mischievous alien. She sobbed as she looked up at his face.

"Oh, Kish," she whined, pulling him closer to her body, "I'm so sorry, Kish! I never meant for you to get hurt, and I never meant to hurt you. Oh, I'm so sorry, Kish! Please!" she yelled quietly, "Forgive me!" She wailed silently on his shoulder as he stroked her hair back gently. He didn't answer at first, only held her as she sobbed.

When her sobs finally quieted down and she started to breath normally again, he grabbed her shoulders and placed her at arms length. allowing himself to examine her closely. He looked over her body, eyes darting over every limb in search of changes in her. He smiled slightly, realizing that not much about her had changed, and he was thankful for that. He looked into her eyes and saw pain deep within them. His smile faltered a little bit, and he raised his hand to her cheek to rub it lightly with his thumb. His other hand grabbed her hand and he brought it slowly up to his lips, grinning before he placed a light kiss on the back of it. Ichigo hiccuped as his lips made contact with the back of her hand, and he paused, startled.

"Why, my little Kitten, what's the matter? Did you miss me that much?" Kish was surprised when she nodded her head quickly and dove into his chest, wrapping her arms around him once again.

"Oh, Kish, I don't think you can ever begin to understand how much I missed you." She pulled back and stared into his eyes, so happy that he was finally back. "I thought you'd never come back," she whispered, reaching up to touch his face. She had to have proof that he was real and not just a dream thought up by her grieving mind. Her hand met with his face and she could feel the warmth radiating off of it. She smiled, finally at peace.

"My my, Ichigo, you sure are acting strangely tonight. Why, I've gotten two hugs already." He smirked and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Your boyfriend must not be doing a very good job of making you feel loved." His heart ached as he said those words, and he looked out toward the window, attempting to avoid Ichigo's piercing gaze. Her eyes were very powerful tonight.

When he didn't receive some sort of snappy, angry comeback from her, he looked down to find her staring at him. He bit his lip and stared at her, confused. "What did I say?"

Ichigo shook her head, causing her messy hair to tumble around her face. "Nothing." She paused. "I don't have a boyfriend. Not anymore." Kish gave her a strange, relieved look, and she explained.

"After the battle with Deep Blue, Masaya disappeared." Ichigo looked down at her hands and whispered, "Just like you." She looked up at him and grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "But here you are! Back!" Ichigo's smile turned into a look of horror as she realized where they were and what time it was. She yelped and flew out of her bed, landing on the floor with a soft thump. Her cheeks were red and her heart beat quickly as she looked up at Kish, who was once again confused. She sighed, remembering that he was an alien unfamiliar with Earth's customs. She rested on the floor and began to explain her erratic behavior.

"You see, Kish, here on Earth, it's not okay to have someone that is the opposite gender in your bed without being married to them. And well, you and I were in my bed and I freaked out. Sorry." She apologized to him as he walked over to her and quietly set himself down on the floor next to her. He turned his head and stared at her.

"I missed you, Ichigo."

Ichigo blushed, thankful that he still held the same feelings for as her he did before. She reached out and grabbed his hand, catching him off guard. She turned her face away from his and whispered, "I missed you too, Kish. I was so worried about you after the battle." She turned back to him, her eyes full of seriousness. "I thought I was never going to see you again."

Kish looked at Ichigo, his heart getting lighter and lighter. "I could never stay away from my excitable little Kitten." He touched the spot on her head where her ears appeared at and laughed. "You're just too much fun to tease." He stuck his tongue out at her, and Ichigo was glad that things were back to normal. Well, almost normal. She blushed as he poked at her head. While he had been gone, she had had a lot of time to use for thinking, and she realized that she missed, deeply missed, having Kish around. Without him, her life was significantly more boring and mundane. She never had to worry about him jumping out from behind corners and scaring her, or attempting to kidnap her and take her away, and surprisingly, she missed it. Well, maybe not the kidnapping attempts, but she missed the way he would sneak up behind her and whisper words of love into her ear. She batted his hand away from her head and looked him in the eyes.

"Kish, I don't want you to leave again." She blinked, but never took her eyes away from his face. She watched as his eyes dulled, then brightened again, and she wasn't sure how to interpret the change.

"I'd never leave you, Ichigo, ever." He stretched himself over and placed a small kiss on her cheek. His lips moved to her ear and she shivered as he spoke into it.

"I love you, Ichigo." Ichigo blushed and turned toward Kish.

"I think I might just love you too," she said, gripping his hand tighter before she gently closed her eyes and fell asleep. Kish smiled and stood up, releasing her hand. He placed it next to her body and grabbed the blanket off of her bed and threw it over her sleeping form. He took a deep breath before he walked over to the window and jumped out of it, disappearing into the night sky.

"Sleep well, my little Kitten."_  
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End file.
